2.4.2 Ensure Show Bluetooth Status in Menu Bar Is Enabled

Information

By showing the Bluetooth status in the menu bar, a small Bluetooth icon is placed in the menu bar. This icon quickly shows the status of Bluetooth, and can allow the user to quickly turn Bluetooth on or off.

Rationale:

Enabling 'Show Bluetooth status in menu bar' is a security awareness method that helps understand the current state of Bluetooth, including whether it is enabled, discoverable, what paired devices exist, and what paired devices are currently active.

Impact:

Bluetooth is a useful wireless tool that has been widely exploited when configured improperly. The user should have insight into the Bluetooth status.

Solution

Profile Method:
Create or edit a configuration profile with the following information:

The PayloadType string is com.apple.controlcenter

The key to include is Bluetooth

The key must be set to <integer>18</integer>

Additional Information:

To verify individual users:

Audit:

Graphical Method:

Perform the following steps to ensure that Bluetooth status shows in the menu bar:

Open System Settings

Select Control Center

Verify that Bluetooth is set to Show in Menu Bar

Terminal Method:

For each user, run the following command to verify that the Bluetooth status is enabled to show in the menu bar:

$ /usr/bin/sudo -u <username> /usr/bin/defaults -currentHost read com.apple.controlcenter.plist Bluetooth

18

Note: If the settings has not been changed from the default, then this audit will fail on the command line. Follow the remediation instructions to verify that it is set to a disabled status.

example:

$ /usr/bin/sudo -u firstuser /usr/bin/defaults -currentHost read com.apple.controlcenter.plist Bluetooth

18

Remediation:

Graphical Method:

Perform the following steps to enable Bluetooth status in the menu bar:

Open System Settings

Select Control Center

Set Bluetooth to Show in Menu Bar

Terminal Method:

For each user, run the following command to enable Bluetooth status in the menu bar:

$ /usr/bin/sudo -u <username> /usr/bin/defaults -currentHost write com.apple.controlcenter.plist Bluetooth -int 18

example:

$ /usr/bin/sudo -u firstuser /usr/bin/defaults -currentHost write com.apple.controlcenter.plist Bluetooth -int 18

See Also

https://workbench.cisecurity.org/benchmarks/14562

Item Details

Category: CONFIGURATION MANAGEMENT

References: 800-53|CM-6, 800-53|CM-7, CSCv7|9.2

Plugin: Unix

Control ID: 33577a091397fb10eede43033ea1c4bc563512ab42ff7b67293b801021b10d83